Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

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Introduction

Composed in 1858, but not published until 1861, the first performance of the Ave Maria Op 12 was given at the Gradener Akademie in Hamburg on 2 December 1859, with orchestral accompaniment, along with the Funeral Hymn Op 13, both directed by Brahms. It represents the composer’s first published attempt at combining vocal and instrumental music, and although there are certain infelicities, the obvious warmth of expression contrasts markedly with the main body of the motets as a whole.

Recordings

'Baker and his choir do a fine job with these pieces. The conclusion to Schaffe in mir is wonderfully exciting … while the close to Geistliche ...'It is hard to imagine finer singing of these sacred scores from Brahms and Rheinberger than that from the Westminster Cathedral Choir. The Cathedral ...» More

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you: you are blessed among women: and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, pray for us.

The Ave Maria Op 12 dates (in spite of its early opus number) from 1858, two years after Geistliches Lied. Originally scored for four upper voices and organ, the accompaniment was later reworked for strings, double woodwind, and a pair of French horns. The influence of Mendelssohn’s music is clear in the Ave Maria, and Brahms’s recent hands-on experience of conducting a choral society in Detmold is apparent. In particular, Brahms developed a special fondness for the transparent sound of women’s voices, and the following year he founded a women’s choir in Hamburg which gave the first performance of the Ave Maria, on 2 December 1859. The Ave Maria alternates between the paired soprano voices and paired alto voices until the final bars when all four voices plead together for the Blessed Virgin Mary’s intercession.